Customer Reviews

Cognac & Bologna / Wrap It

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A great album, and a sort of sad story behind it... Last weekend (March 2003) I watched Doug and his current Slugs play a tiny little club, packed, for this evening, with balding men in baseball caps ("whenever you see a guy in a bar with a baseball cap on, he's probably bald" -- D. Bennett) and trashily "dressed-up" suburbanized women with big hair, threatening cleavage and tight jeans. It was a fun, tuneful evening, but I gotta admit -- Doug seemed tired. His voice is still passionate, unique, and a delight to listen to; he still put a lot of energy into his performance; and he knew how to get the crowd laughing, dancing, and enjoying themselves. He emceed an impromptu twist contest, told abundant jokes (mingling with the audience as he always does in such venues), even did a singalong encore of the Stones' "Satisfaction" -- a tune well-suited to his voice. There was, tho', a cynical edge to a lot of his patter, and some of his jokes were flat out hostile; it was softened by the fact that he often poked humour at himself (at one point he told a member of the audience to stop complaining about his monologues, because "half our routine is me talking about how fat I am..."). But sometimes it stopped being funny. He did a routine about how at various points in his career he thought he'd be able to "stop playing in p---holes like these," called himself a "fat a--hole" at various points in the night, bitched about his divorce a few more times than one would've expected, said a few things about audience members that could have gotten him decked, and, when he wasn't singing, generally just wandered off into the corner to wait things out, expressionless. He's a really GOOD showman, and so these things were really no problem -- and none of the bald guys or trashy gals he poked fun at started a fight with him, much to my relief -- but it seems like the years without success have worn him down a bit; while he made sure the audience had fun, I'm not sure that he did. It's too bad -- no pun intended -- because he OUGHT to be one of Canada's patron saints of music, OUGHT to be appreciated more. If Stompin' Tom is our Woody Guthrie, then Doug Bennett is our Frank Sinatra (or Tony Bennett or -- fill in your own blank). This album OUGHT to be in every self-respecting Canadian music fan's collection, just out of sheer loyalty to real Canuck art -- and out of respect to the band for surviving so long, when really they only ever put out one GREAT recording (COGNAC AND BOLOGNA). The reality, though, is that this album -- like the rest of the Slugs' backcatalogue -- isn't even for SALE in Canada; if you want to get it -- and if you like tuneful, smart, cynical pop stuff, like the idea of Raymond Chandler doing standup while a 50's jukebox plays in the background, then you SHOULD get it, by all means -- the only option that I know of is this very site, Amazon.com. The only bit of good news from the March show: it sounds like the Slugs have a current recording contract. Maybe there'll be another disc coming sometime. Who knows; there's life in the man yet, battered about tho' it may be. Like Buk says, "One learns survival by surviving..."

Cognac & Bologna is one of the all-time unknown gems in pop music. I had the vinyl in 1980, enjoyed it throughout the '80s, and have now rediscovered it on CD a decade later. I don't know how I got through the '90s without it! Brilliant music, brilliant lyrics, great variety - everything just about right. Long live the music of Doug & The Slugs! Viva Vancouver!

I can't tell you whether you'll like the show, but all Slug fans have got to tune in for the opening credits of "The Norm Show" - Norm McDonald's new sitcom on ABC, following Drew Carey. If you miss this, well, all I can say is: "Too Bad"

I had several of the Slugs' albums on vinyl back in a previous century, but I lost track of them for many years and only rediscovered them on CD a year or so before Doug Bennett's untimely death. I was delighted with how well this music had aged, if anything I appreciated the mix between energetic pop songs and more thoughtful numbers with insightful and often bittersweet lyrics more than ever. And it's hard not to like a band that sounds as if the members are having fun, it's a refreshing contrast with the brooding self-pity that so many rock musicians indulge in. Like some other Canadian Bands (Rough Trade or The Tragically Hip come to mind) the Slugs deserved more commercial success than they achieved, the name of the band probably didn't help much there, and maybe they were laughing too much for the music industry to take them seriously. But if you haven't heard this music then this collection is the best place to start, some of their later recordings maybe are not up to this standard, but Cognac and Bologna in particular is outstanding with razor-sharp songwriting that will have you hitting "repeat" to savor to savor the lyrics over and over again.

Doug Bennett was one of Canada's best talents. One of the first bands to successfully use video media, they were early pioneers on MTV. Tight vocals, excellent musicianship, multiple Juno award winners. What can I say? They rock.

This is an early compilation comprising their first album Cognac and Bologna and their second, Wrap It. Cognac and Bologna has the clever lyrics of "Too Bad", "Chinatown Calculation". But "Wrap It" rocks. By this time, they had exposure and had matured into a finally honed group. Best tracks? "Real Enough", "Not on the Corner." They rock.

I had a chance to see this band several times in the 80's in clubs in Seattle. They never failed to entertain.

Doug Bennett passed away in October, 2004. The Slugs persist, yeah sadly, under a different name. Listen to one of Canada's best exports and you will not be sorry.

I have been searching for this CD for 20 years! 'toe tapping, sing along, dont care that the kids in the school bus are lauging their heads off at the singing lady tunes! We all have that one cassette ( yeah I'm old!) that puts a smile on your face and picks you up, this is it for me. All those years ago when I would drag this old bod out of the rack for the commute, I would pop in, put the top down in my VW Bug and arrive at work on top of the world. Mind you this was Evergreen, CO and nippy, but I didn't care! Prozac for the ears! Treat yourself!

The slug's catchy upbeat music is a perfect foil for Bennett's self effacing moodiness. These discs are just what the doctor ordered to cure a broken heart or to jump start a party.

THESE GUYS COME FROM WESTERN CANADA WHERE THEY TURN OUT SOME OF THE BEST MUSIC I'VE EVER HEARD.YOU HAVEN'T LIVED UNTIL YOU'VE BEEN TO A LIVE SHOW WITH LOTS OF DANCE ROOM. THE BAND PLAYS A LITTLE LOW KEY INSTRUMENTAL FOR A WHILE AND THEN DOUG BENNET ENTERS THE SPACE LIKE A STORM MOVIN' IN.AND ALL GET UP AND MOVE WITH THE SOUNDS HELL [HEAVEN?] BREAKS LOOSE. THE CROWD IS AT PEAK JOY IN A FEW SECONDS AND IT DOESN'T COME DOWN FOR DAYS. YOU GOTTA' GET THIS DOUBLE CD. NO TIME ALONE AT HOME OR IN THE CAR IS COMPLETE WITHOUT IT, AND NO PARTY IS A PARTY WITHOUT DOUG AND THE SLUGS. THERE NO WAY TO DO JUSTICE TO THE POETRY, FINE INSTRUMENTALS AND RAW GUTSY VOICE OF THESE GUYS.LAYER UPON LAYER OF THE BEST MUSIC I HAVE EVER HEARD. LOOK FOR POPAGANDA BY THE SLUGS [ABSOLUTE PEAK OF THEIR GAME] AND THE LAST ONE I KNOW OF--TOM CAT PROWL. FLOOD THE NET WITH REQUESTS AND DON'T THESE GUYS FADE AWAY I HAVE GIVEN THIS ALBUM FOR A GIFT SO MANY TIMES I CANNOT COUNT. ALWAYS REVERED BY ANY AND ALL AGE GROUP OR MUSICAL TASTE STYLE. THESE GUYS BEGAN THE COME BACK OF SWING AND BLENDED IN ROCK, ALTERNATIVE, BIG BAND, BLUES AND GENIOUS. TRUE GENIOUS. WITH A VOICE STEEPED IN LIFE TIMES OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE. THAT'S DOUG BENNET.

Wow. I could not belive my eyes when I saw this CD. I had these two albums on tape, and must have listened to it 300 times in 15 years. And then one day, the tape broke. So did my heart. If you like good rock and roll, with lyrics that either provoke a little thought, or are very silly (and often both), get this record. If you like to dance, get this record. If you want to help spark a revival tour of a band I love (but never got to see live), get this record. In short, get this record.

... OUGHT to be one of Canada's patron saints of music, OUGHT to be appreciated more. If Stompin' Tom is our Woody Guthrie, then Doug Bennett is our Frank Sinatra (or Tony Bennett or -- fill in your own blank). This album OUGHT to be in every self-respecting Canadian music fan's collection, just out of sheer loyalty to real Canuck art -- and out of respect to the band for surviving so long, when really they only ever put out one GREAT recording (COGNAC AND BOLOGNA). The reality, though, is that this album -- like the rest of the Slugs' backcatalogue --... if you like tuneful, smart, cynical pop stuff, like the idea of Raymond Chandler doing standup while a 50's jukebox plays in the background, then you SHOULD get it, by all means --...it sounds like the Slugs have a current recording contract. Maybe there'll be another disc coming sometime. Who knows; there's life in the man yet, battered about tho' it may be. Like Buk says, "One learns survival by surviving..."